3 Stocks With Yields Over 5% to Buy Now

As many investors have been told time and time again, dividend-paying stocks outperform non-dividend paying stocks over the long term. It is for this reason that all long-term investors should own at least one dividend-paying stock, and in some cases, maybe even a diversified portfolio full of them. With this in mind, let’s take a look at three stocks with yields over 5% that you could buy today.

1. Genworth MI Canada Inc.

Genworth MI Canada Inc. (TSX:MIC) is Canada’s largest private residential mortgage insurer through its subsidiary Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Company Canada. It pays a quarterly dividend $0.42 per share, or $1.68 per share annually, which gives its stock a yield of about 7.5% at today’s levels.

Investors must also make two important notes.

First, Genworth has raised its regular annual dividend payment every year since it first began paying one in 2009, resulting in six consecutive years of increases.

Second, its recent dividend hikes, including its 7.7% increase in October 2015, puts it on pace for 2016 to mark the seventh consecutive year in which it has raised its annual dividend payment.

2. Milestone Apartments Real Estate Investment Trust

Milestone Apartments Real Estate Invt Tr (TSX:MST.UN) owns 61 multi-family residential properties totaling over 19,900 units that are located in the southern United States. It pays a monthly distribution of US$0.04583 per share, or US$0.55 per share annually, which gives its stock a yield of about 5.5% at today’s levels.

It is also important to note that Milestone announced an increase to its distribution and a change to U.S. dollar-denominated cash distributions in October 2015, effective for its January 2016 payment, which resulted in a distribution increase of approximately 22% based on the current exchange rate.

3. Aimia Inc.

Aimia Inc. (TSX: AIM) is one of the largest providers of marketing and loyalty analytics services. It pays a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, or $0.76 per share annually, which gives its stock a yield of about 8.1% at today’s levels.

Investors must also make two important notes.

First, Aimia has raised its annual dividend payment for five consecutive years.

Second, its recent dividend hikes, including its 5.6% increase in May 2015, puts it on pace for 2016 to mark the sixth consecutive year in which it has raised its annual dividend payment.

Could your portfolio use a dividend stock?

Genworth MI Canada, Milestone Apartments REIT, and Aimia are three very attractive high-yielding investment options. Foolish investors should take a closer look and consider beginning to scale in to long-term positions in one of them today.